Homolka’s presence irks neighbours
MONTREAL • When Bruce Richter lived in Scarborough, Ont., in the early 1990s, he occasionally saw Paul Bernardo walking around the neighbourhood with his girlfriend, Karla Homolka.
“She was very pretty,” Richter recalled of the teenager, who would eventually become one of Canada’s most notorious criminals for her role in the sex killings of two schoolgirls and her 15-year-old sister, Tammy.
So Richter could hardly believe his ears on Wednesday when he learned that all these years later, Homolka was not only living in his Châteauguay neighbourhood on Montreal’s South Shore, but on his street.
“It’s very strange considering I saw her when she was a kid with Bernardo,” Richter said. “One time, my friend chased Bernardo out of the bushes when he was hiding near a (woman’s home).”
Châteauguay residents were stunned to learn this week that Homolka, 45, resides in the community and has children attending Centennial Park, an elementary school a short distance from her home.
Homolka is now using the name Léanne Teale, which is the surname that she and Bernardo adopted shortly after their marriage. Teale was a serial killer in the movie Criminal Law and a character that Bernardo admired.
A woman who lives next door to Homolka said she didn’t know her neighbour’s real identity until this week. She said Homolka has lived on the street for about two years, but said she keeps to herself.
“They have been nice people,” said the woman, who refused to give her name. “I feel very sad for the children.”
Richter said he, too, has never spoken to Homolka, but he doubts that it will be easy for her to remain in the community.
“She does have a right to stay on the street, but it won’t be fun for her children, especially at school. You know how kids are. It will be hard for her to escape her past.”
He said he believes that some people are still angry that Homolka only received a 12-year sentence for manslaughter for her role in the killings of her sister, 15-yearold Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy.
Homolka remained inside her home with some of her children on Wednesday and asked reporters to stay off her property. She startled a television reporter when she smacked her hand against a frosted window pane. She later called the police, who instructed reporters to stay off her property.
Homolka’s husband told La Presse on Tuesday that if neighbours were worried, they could simply move.
A parent whose child attends Centennial Park School said she was certain that children were talking about Homolka in the schoolyard on Wednesday. “Now I have to explain to my son who she is,” said the parent, who gave her name as Karina. “It’s Karla Homolka. We all know who she is.”
The New Frontiers School Board issued a statement Wednesday saying psychologists and counsellors are available to speak to any parents or children who need their services.
The statement also said that the issue came to light on the weekend when a reporter went door to door asking if people knew that Karla Homolka was living in the area.
A man who lives across the street from Centennial Park elementary said there has been a lot of commotion at the school since news broke that Homolka’s children are students there.
“There are a lot of worried parents,” said the man, who gave his name as Ron.
Ron said he was surprised to hear that Homolka is living in Châteauguay but not surprised that people eventually discovered who she is.
“Did she think that she was going to live a normal life?”
SHE DOES HAVE A RIGHT TO STAY ON THE STREET, BUT IT WON’T BE FUN FOR HER CHILDREN, ESPECIALLY AT SCHOOL. YOU KNOW HOW KIDS ARE. IT WILL BE HARD FOR HER TO ESCAPE HER PAST. — BRUCE RICHTER, RESIDENT OF CHÂTEAUGUAY, QUEBEC